A Wrong Turn in the Spirit World
by Chasing Constellations
Summary: Team Avatar decides to prank Aang while meditating, but something strange happens which lands all of them in the Spirit World. They find a portal that they think will take them back to their world, but find themselves in a place that seems even stranger than the Spirit World: Planet Earth.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

"Come on, Aang," Katara smiled. "This Avatar stuff can wait. Have a little fun!"

"I'm sorry, Katara, but I _really_ have to meditate right now. Every day, I need to get in touch with my spiritual self. And it's nighttime now, so I need to get this done," Aang replied, much to Katara's annoyance.

"Get in the water, Twinkletoes," Toph called from the ocean. "I'm in, and I almost never swim. It's hard to see anything in the water, for me anyway. Your eyes work though, so you'll have more fun than me."

"Pleeeaaaassseee, Aang?" Sokka pleaded, his eyes growing comically huge. "I need someone to help me defeat Suki in our splash war."

"I'll beat you anyway, Sokka," Suki smirked.

"Hello? He's the _Avatar,"_ Sokka said, making crazy arm motions towards Aang. "All four kinds of bending! We could totally take you."

As the two continued their argument, Katara tried to get Aang to go swimming with the rest of them one more time.

"Look, Aang, I know that being the Avatar is important, but what about being a teenager? You need to have fun every once in a while," she said. "It's been a whole year since you defeated Firelord Ozai, but you still seem so tense. Just relax. I know Toph and Sokka don't seem like they're taking it seriously, but they actually really want to spend time with you."

"I understand, but I've been relaxing all day, _and _I've been spending time with all of you. Now I need to meditate. Even if it's just for five minutes, I need to focus on my Avatar spirit," Aang explained. "Then I'll have fun with you guys."

"But Aang-" Katara started to say.

"Katara, just leave him alone for a little while," Zuko interrupted. "He'll be done faster if you stop pestering him."

"Thanks, Zuko," Aang said, getting into the lotus position and closing his eyes.

Zuko and Katara walked across the sandy beach, towards the sea where the others were having an all out splash battle.

"I just want him to unwind. Haven't you noticed how stressed he's been?" Katara asked.

"Yeah, and maybe meditation will clear his head," Zuko said. "But that shouldn't stop _you_ from swimming with us. You do love the water."

"Maybe you're right. He'll come in when he wants to. Maybe he's still paranoid because of the Unagi that almost killed him," she laughed. "You all better run for cover, because I'm joining this splash war!" she shouted happily, launching herself into the water.

"Never had a splash war before," Zuko muttered to himself. "Then again, my upbringing wasn't exactly fun and games at the beach. More like, sit and obey your father at the beach." He smiled bitterly, looking at the others. "It can't be that bad though... Watch out, everyone, the Firelord's ready to attack!"

"_Fire_lord?" Toph said. "Please. This is water. You're gonna get creamed."

"No, _you're_ getting creamed!" Sokka said, coming up behind Toph and pushing her underwater.

"Thanks, Sokka-"

"Don't thank me, Zuko, because you're next!" Sokka yelled, chasing Zuko through the water.

***

Meanwhile, Aang was having trouble meditating. With all that noise, it was hard to concentrate. But he couldn't leave. He didn't want to upset Katara more.

***

After a few minutes of violent splash battling, Sokka decided that Aang would have to go in the water sometime. And, being a strategic genius, he knew just how to help Aang get there. "Stop the splash war!" he shouted. Everyone paused, looking at him questioningly.

"Sokka the super crazy, fun-loving guy stopping a splash war?" Katara asked. "There must be a very good reason for this."

"Maybe he lost his ponytail holder in the water," Toph snickered.

"Haha, very funny," Sokka deadpanned. "Come over here, and get into a huddle."

"You're so weird," Suki said, rolling her eyes playfully.

"That's why you love me," Sokka said dreamily.

"Oh, stop it," Suki said, her face turning red.

"Anyway," Sokka said, pulling Suki into the huddle and lowering his voice down to a whisper, "we have to get Aang to come in. And it seems like he's not gonna get up for a while. So I was thinking... we should drag him in!"

There was a murmur of agreement from everyone, except Zuko, who was frowning.

"Wait, what if he's in the spirit world? Doesn't something bad happen if his body is moved?" Zuko asked.

"He's not in the spirit world," Katara said. "His arrow's not glowing."

"Oh, okay. But doesn't he deserve some peace?" Zuko said.

"Do you not want him here, or something?" Toph asked.

"No, no, Aang's one of my closest friends!" Zuko said.

"Well then help us out, Mr. Firelord," Toph said, giving Zuko a tiny shove.

"Okay, so Zuko and I will grab his legs. Toph and Suki, get his arms. Katara, lift his stomach... or back, whichever. Everyone ready?" Sokka said, grinning evily.

Everyone nodded. Team Avatar was back in action.

***

Aang didn't know why everything had gotten so quiet. Maybe they were having an underwater breath holding contest? The silence was enough to clear his head, though. Now he could finally make it to the spirit world...

***

After tiptoeing across the beach, Sokka had positioned himself next to Aang's right leg. Everyone was in position. _Ready?_ he mouthed. They all nodded. "Now!" Sokka shouted and grabbed Aang's leg, right as Aang's arrow started to glow. The glow spread out through the Avatar's body, and transferred to them too.

"Oh, shoot," Sokka said nervously.

"Has anything like this ever happened before?" Zuko asked.

"No, it's usually only his arrow tattoo that glows!" Katara said in dismay.

"What's going on?" Toph said. "I can't see what you're talking about! Someone explain!"

"We're all glowing!" Suki said fearfully.

"This is not good, what's going to happen?" Sokka said. He was starting to go into panic mode. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, are we going into the-"

A blinding light flashed, cutting Sokka off mid-sentence. Team Avatar had disappeared into thin air.

***

"What just happened?" Suki asked.

"I can't see anything! My feet aren't working. What's going on?" Toph said.

They were in a strange place that looked like a misty swamp. There was something about the swamp that made it seem strange and unreal, almost otherworldly.

"Oh no, we're in the spirit world, guys!" Sokka said, hugging his knees to his chest.

"I told you this was a bad idea, Sokka!" Zuko shouted. "Look what you got us into!"

"It's not his fault, Zuko! He didn't know this would happen!" Katara said angrily. "This isn't normal for Aang, anyway. He doesn't bring people into the spirit world."

"Speaking of Aang, where is he?" Sokka asked.

"I _told_ you to leave me alone!" A voice said. "Can't you just listen for once?"

They saw Aang standing a few feet away, glaring at them.

"Aang, I'm sorry-" Katara said.

"Katara, I told you specifically that I needed meditation time! Now look what you've done-what you _all_ have done," Aang said, his voice rising to a shout. "The spirit world is no place for humans. Sokka, you should know that after Heibai kidnapped you."

"I know you're mad, Aang, but think about this for a second," Toph said. "Do you think any of us actually _meant_ to come here? You usually don't bring anyone into the spirit world, and like you said, Sokka knows that the spirit world is not a fun place. We did grab you while you were meditating, and that was on purpose, but we never thought we'd end up here. We were just trying to get you to join us. We thought you were missing out."

There were a few seconds of silence. Then Aang spoke again.

"Okay, I guess I overreacted a little. I get it. I've pranked people too. You were just trying to help me out and have some fun. But you still shouldn't interrupt me while I'm meditating."

"Yeah, and I think we've all learned that lesson for ourselves," Suki said.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Sokka agreed. "I don't like it here at all."

"I've got to get you guys back to the normal world," Aang said. "Follow me, everyone."

They walked behind Aang in a line, Toph holding Katara's arm and Sokka jumping and grabbing Suki as any bugs flew by. Soon they came to a glowing white circle, about as tall as an average person. Aang put his hand through it and smiled.

"This is our way back, guys," he said. "I'll go last, just in case-"

"I'm first, come on, Suki!" Sokka yelled, grabbing Suki and running through the bright light.

"Me second," Toph said. "I hate not being able to see here."

"Why can't she see, Aang?" Katara asked.

"Bending doesn't work in the spirit world," Aang explained. "Toph sees with earthbending, so it didn't work here."

"Katara, let's go," Toph said. They jumped through the circle.

"Zuko, your turn," Aang said. He looked back and saw Zuko staring into space. "Zuko?"

"I can't help but wonder if Uncle was here," Zuko said. "Some people said he'd visited the spirit world, but I thought they made it up. But now that I know normal humans can come here, I don't know what to think."

"Well, your uncle does have a great respect for spirits, so maybe he _has _been here," Aang said. "You should ask him."

"I will," Zuko smiled.

"Aang? Zuko? Where are you guys?" Sokka's muffled, but distressed-sounding voice came from the portal.

"Is everything okay, Sokka?" Aang asked.

"How do we get back through?" Sokka said.

"I thought you hated it here," Zuko teased.

"Not funny, Zuko. Something weird's going on here," Sokka said.

"What's going on? Are you guys in danger? Don't worry, I'm coming!" Aang shouted. "Zuko, come on, go!"

Zuko jumped through the circle.

"What the... Aang something's definitely off here," Zuko said.

"I'm coming!" Aang said, racing through the portal.

"No, wait, Aang! You might be our only chance to get back through!" Zuko yelled, but Aang was already through.

The portal shrunk until it was the size of a coin. Then it blinked and dissolved into a few sparks.

"Where are we?" Sokka asked.

Aang looked up and saw that they were in an alleyway. "I'll get on the roof and see where we are," he said.

"That's what's weird," Zuko said. "Look how tall the buildings are."

Aang looked up and saw that the buildings weren't the normal size of houses. They were even taller than the air temples he's been to. And they seemed to be made of glass.

"Are we still in the spirit world?" Katara asked.

"No, I can see things here," Toph said. "They're pretty weird, though. There are a bunch of things that feel kind of like those Fire Nation tanks over there, only they're going much faster than normal tanks." She pointed to the left.

"Toph, can you take us there?" Aang asked.

"You got it, Twinkletoes," Toph smiled, running down the alley. Everyone else ran after her, until they got to what seemed like a street. Only, there were a bunch of metal tank-looking things running along it.

"What are those machines?" Zuko asked. "I've never seen anything like them!"

"I have no idea," Sokka said. "This is definitely not our world."

"Well, wherever we are, we're going to have to stay a while, because the portal disappeared," Aang said.

"Can't you just get back into the spirit world by meditating?" Katara said.

"I don't think so, not with all the noise these things are making," Aang said.

` "Look at those people," Zuko said. "They're dressed completely different than we are. We've gotta get some new clothes."

"Like how we got clothes in the Fire Nation?" Toph asked.

"No, something tells me that people here don't leave their clothes out to dry," Katara said. "There's not enough space. So I guess we're going to have to-"

"Wait, wait, wait. Does this mean... we're going _shopping?!"_ Sokka asked excitedly.

"You know, I think you're the only guy who likes shopping, Sokka," Suki said, smiling.

"But you like shopping too, don't you?" Sokka said.

"Of course I like shopping! Let's go!" Suki said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! I realized that I forgot to add a disclaimer last time, so here it is:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Avatar: the Last Airbender. I also do not own Aéropostale.**

**Also, if you have an opinion about my story, or some tips, or anything to say - anything at all! - feel free to review. Thanks!**

Chapter Two:

The group walked down the street for a while. Everyone they passed gave them strange looks.

"Maybe they don't like outsiders here," Zuko said, laughing nervously.

"I feel weird walking around in my bikini," Katara muttered, crossing her arms over her stomach.

"Don't be silly, Katara, you look great!" Aang smiled.

"Aw, thanks Aang, but I still feel weird," Katara said, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

A toddler took one look at Aang's head and shouted, "Mommy, why can't I get a tattoo like him?"

They found a clothing store eventually.

Aang stared at the sign bearing the store's name. "How do you even _say_ that?" he wondered aloud. "Ai-roo-pas-tay-lee?"

"Maybe it's Ay-roo-pows-tayle," Katara said.

"What are you guys talking about? Are you speaking a different language?" Toph

asked.

A bell jingled as Sokka opened the door to the clothes shop. Loud music was playing inside. It was unlike any music they had heard in the four nations. The people's voices sounded strangely fake, and the lyrics didn't make sense at all.

"Hi, welcome to Aéropostale, how may I help you?" a bored looking, slightly heavy woman asked.

"So _that's _how you say it," Aang whispered.

"Whoa... are you all models or something? Why are you in swimsuits?" the woman said. "You are gonna need some new clothes."

"I know, right?" Sokka said excitedly. "I could totally use some new clothes!"

The woman raised an eyebrow in Sokka's direction, then shook her head disapprovingly.

"Well, let's get started!" Suki smiled.

"Katara, come with me!" Toph said. "I need someone with eyes."

"Sure thing, Toph," Katara said, taking Toph's arm and leading her through the store.

"I hate shopping," Zuko grumbled.

"Same here," replied Aang, in the same dejected tone.

"Are you guys kidding? Shopping is great!" Sokka yelled from behind a clothing rack. "Just look at these! Aang, this one would look great on you! And, um, Zuko, there's a nice red shirt here that you might like..."

The other two boys rolled their eyes as Sokka kept blabbering about the clothes.

Toph and Katara were having trouble finding clothes.

"I've never seen clothing with words on it before," Katara mused.

"I've never seen _any_ clothing before," Toph said. "Any that you think I would like?"

"It depends... what kind of look are you going for?" Katara said. "Tough, like when you were the Blind Bandit? Or girly, like that time I took you for a spa day in the Earth Kingdom?"

"You know me, I'm all about tough," Toph smirked. Then, making her voice low and gravelly, she said, "They call me 'Toph" because it sounds like 'tough!' And that's just what I am."

It was a perfect impression of the actor who had represented her in the terrible Ember Island play.

"Okay," Katara laughed. "No flowers, then?"

"Definitely not," Toph said.

"Well, here's a black shirt, a few blue shirts, a grey shirt, some hooded sweaters, and a few tank tops," Katara said, piling an assortment of tops on Toph's arms.

"They feel comfy enough," Toph said with a smile. "Now what about the pants?"

Katara and Toph roamed the store, grabbing jeans, sweatpants, and shorts off of the shelves for the blind earthbender to try on.

"Okay, here are the changing rooms," Katara said as she lead Toph into one of the cubicles. "I'm going to look around the store for some clothes for myself, but if you need anything, just yell for me, okay?"

"Okay, Katara," Toph said.

"I don't want to change out of my monk's robes," Aang said, looking at the orange and red clothes he was wearing. He was the only one not in his bathing suit.

"I can understand that," Zuko said.

The chubby sales-lady appeared in front of Aang and Zuko and studied their faces, her eyes narrowing to slits. "Are you some kind of Buddhist monk or something?" she asked Aang.

"Um... Buddhist? What's that?" Aang said nervously.

"Never mind," the woman said. "And that girl over there, is she blind?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Zuko answered, his voice taking on a wary tone.

"No reason," the woman said. "Forget I asked." She walked away from a very confused Aang and Zuko.

"I don't like her," the Firelord said. "People should just mind their own business. I mean, why does she care if Toph's blind?"

"Zuko, calm down," Aang said. "It was just an honest question. No need to get so angry."

"Fine, but still. That just burns me up," Zuko said, crossing his arms.

"Haha, it burns you up. Nice one, Zuko!" Aang smiled. Then he saw his friend's expression. "Oh, that wasn't a joke. Speaking of bending, though, can we do that here?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen anyone bending yet," Zuko said. "We should probably lie low until we know for sure that we can."

"Sounds good to me," Aang said.

"Hey, Aang!" a girl's voice called from the other side of the shop. "How do you think this outfit looks?"

Aang turned around and saw Katara dressed in a simple T-shirt and denim mini-shorts. His eyes bulged out of his head and his jaw dropped wide open. Though her clothes were plain, she looked amazing, just like she always did to Aang.

"Um... Aang? How do I look?" Katara asked worriedly. He still hadn't said anything, which could only mean one thing for Katara: she looked too horrible for words.

Zuko realized what was happening to Aang - the same thing had happened to him a few times with Mai - and decided to help his friend out.

"He thinks you look great," Zuko smiled.

"Yeah, Katara, you look awesome," Aang said, coming out of his daze and giving her a thumbs up.

"Thanks guys," Katara said happily and went in search of more clothes.

"Aang," Zuko said, a half-smiling half-serious expression on his face.

"What?" the airbender said.

"I noticed the way you were staring at Katara. Why don't you just ask her out?" Zuko said.

"What are you talking about?" Aang said. "She only likes me as a friend."

"Are you kidding? You kissed after the war was over. That's a sign! It's been a long time since then, Aang, and I think she's been waiting for you to make your move," Zuko told him.

"Really?" Aang said, his eyes glossing over for a second.

"Of course! Plus, you're taller than her now," Zuko said.

"Ha, you're right," Aang laughed. "But how do I get my feelings out without seeming creepy? What if I mess up? What if I get rejected? She ran away from me once before, after I kissed her on Ember Island."

"You won't sound creepy, just tell her the truth. As for messing up, she won't care. I bet she'll like you even more for being brave enough to tell her how you feel," Zuko said. "And as for rejection, it won't happen. Trust me. Besides, you're the Avatar! You _saved the world._ How can that not be attractive?"

"Thanks for the encouragement, Zuko," Aang said, smiling a little. "But I think I'll wait a little while longer, just because we're in a new place and she might want to get used to everything before making decisions like this."

"That's thoughtful of you, Aang, and you're probably right," Zuko said. "Just remember, the longer you wait, the farther she drifts from you. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to get a shirt." The Firelord left, leaving Aang to mull over everything that had been said.

Katara found Suki in the accessories section.

"Can you believe it?" the Kyoshi Warrior said in annoyance. "They don't sell fans here."

"Suki, this may sound a little awkward but, can I ask you a personal question?" Katara said, feeling embarrassed.

"Sure, Katara," Suki smiled. "What's this about?"

"Well, after you and Sokka kissed on Kyoshi Island, how long was it until he asked you to be his girlfriend?" Katara said.

"Are we counting the time you were on your journey without you or are we starting from when we met at the Ba Sing Se train station?" Suki said.

"Since Ba Sing Se," the waterbender replied.

"Well, I think it was a few months, but I don't know. Three, maybe four?" Suki guessed.

"Oh," Katara said gloomily. It had been way longer than four months since she and Aang had kissed after he defeated Ozai.

"Is this about Aang?" Suki asked. "Because, compared to Sokka, he doesn't talk that much. And he's got way more responsibilities than Sokka, who just has to sharpen his boomerang and bathe."

"I guess I'm pretty easy to read, huh," Katara muttered.

"I can understand why he hasn't told you about his feelings though. He's a shy kid," Suki said.

"I guess you're right, but what if he doesn't even like me, and that's why he hasn't done anything?" Katara asked.

"Katara, trust me when I say that boy has _huge_ feelings for you," Suki said.

"How do you know?" Katara said.

"I notice things," Suki said nonchalantly. "He's probably just trying to pluck up the courage to ask you out."

Katara wanted to ask what the things Suki had noticed were, but the Kyoshi Warrior kept talking.

"Maybe you should just tell him yourself," Suki said.

"W-what?" Katara stammered.

"The guy doesn't always have to be the one to share their feelings first. It's perfectly acceptable for a girl to ask a guy out, too," Suki said. "I bet it even makes the guy like her even more, because of the fearlessness a girl has to have to do something like that."

"Hmm, maybe I _will_ tell him," Katara whispered to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, followed, or favorited. Those emails made me so happy!**

**LandofMidnightRain - Thanks :) I'm glad you think how they got there was believable because I had my sister read it first and she didn't think so. And I'm really sorry if anyone seems out of character in this chapter. I'm nervous about posting it, but I figured I'd give it a shot.**

**The Goddess of Percabeth - I haven't heard but thank you for telling me. I'll be watching it for sure!**

**iliv4tv, Anonymous Guest, rcool98, blackgreywhite, and katniz everdeen mellark - Thanks so much!**

**The guest who wanted me to include Appa - That's a great idea! Maybe in a few chapters, because I've got the next few planned out already. But I'll be sure to include him.**

**Moon White Rose - Hahaha, good job, you guessed it!**

**Now, how does everyone feel about chapter length? Are they too long? Also, as I said to LandofMidnightRain, I'm nervous that some of the characters get out of character in this chapter, so I'm sorry in advance. I really hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

Chapter Three:

"You don't take Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, _or_ Water Tribe money?!" Sokka asked, his voice filled with exasperation.

"What the heck are you talking about?" the annoying sales-woman said. "I don't know any nation, kingdom, or whatever."

"You don't happen to have any Air Nomad money, do you, Aang?" Sokka said.

"Look people, the only money I take is dollars. Good old fashioned American dollars," the woman said.

"American dollars?" Zuko said. "What kind of currency is that?"

"Aang, this doesn't look good," Katara whispered.

"I know, but I don't know what to do," Aang said. "We don't have any of those dollars she's talking about, but I don't want to steal these clothes from her."

"I don't think there's anything else we can do," Toph said.

"Fine," Aang grumbled. "EVERYONE, _RUN!"_

"What the-" the woman said, but Team Avatar was already out the door, clothes in hand.

An alarm sounded, and they all froze in confusion.

"What's going on?" Aang yelled over the blaring alarm. "This stuff never happened in our world!"

"Wait, I think I can handle this," Toph said. She grabbed the detectors by the store doors and snapped them in half, silencing the alarm.

"No, wait, Toph!" Aang said. "I don't think we should bend here."

"Too late, Aang, let's leave now," Toph said, taking off towards the alleyway they had come from. The others followed her.

"I'm going to call 9-1-1!" the sales-lady shouted.

"What's 9-1-1?" Katara said, just as a siren sounded from down the street. White vehicles with "POLICE" painted on the sides sped down the road, straight for them.

"I think 9-1-1 means police, so we should really think about leaving now," Zuko said.

"I'll slow them down," Toph said, bending the rock in the road to form a wall in front of the police cars. "Now let's get out of here!"

The six teenagers finally made it back to the alley.

"Well, we have clothes," Sokka said. "But what about _food?"_

"I don't think it's a good idea to go out right now," Katara said. "Those policemen are probably still looking for us."

A police car drove by a few seconds later, siren blaring, as if it were trying to help Katara prove her point.

"But _I need meat,"_ Sokka said.

"Right now, the most important thing is coming up with a plan," Aang said. "And getting a few things straight. First of all, try not to bend. It seems like no one bends here, so we should try to keep a low profile and not attract any attention by bending."

"Oh no," Sokka said sarcastically. "However will I get by without bending? How _terrible."_

"Quiet, Sokka," Katara snapped.

"Toph, what you did back there was great and it probably saved us from the police," Aang continued, "but in the future, just try not to bend, okay?"

"You got it, Twinkletoes," Toph said.

"Second, I have no idea where we are, but I'm pretty sure we aren't in any of the four nations," Aang said.

"Wait, what do you mean, we aren't in any of the four nations?" Suki asked.

"Does this mean," Sokka's eyes got huge as he said, "we're in a whole different world? In a whole different universe? Have we traveled between dimensions?"

"Calm down, Sokka," Suki said, giving her boyfriend a pat on the shoulder.

"I really have no idea what this means, but I think that the only way we'll be able to go back is if we go back through the Spirit World," Aang said.

"So start meditating!" Sokka shouted. "Get us there!"

"Okay, okay," Aang said, getting into the lotus position and closing his eyes.

The others watched him in complete silence, not wanting to interrupt him and destroy their chances of getting back to their world.

After a few minutes, Aang opened his eyes and shook his head. "It's too loud here," he said. "I can't concentrate enough to make a connection to the Spirit world."

"Nooooo," Sokka said, flailing his arms and collapsing on the ground. "Then could we at least get some food to last us until we can find a quieter place for Aang to meditate? Preferably, meat?"

"I agree with Sokka," Toph said. "But we shouldn't all go."

"As much as I hate the idea of splitting up, Toph's right," Katara said. "We'd be too noticeable if we all went together, and if the police are still looking for us, they'll have our descriptions."

"So, who looks relatively average out of all of us?" Toph asked.

"Well, Zuko has that scar and Aang has his Airbending Tattoes, so they probably shouldn't go," Suki said.

"Suki, you're pretty normal looking," Zuko said.

"Are you kidding?" Sokka yelled. "Suki's _way_ to gorgeous to be normal looking! The police would know it was her because of her good looks!"

"That's really sweet, Sokka... in a kind of awkward way," Suki blushed. "But I'm actually one of the more normal looking ones in this group, like Zuko said."

"Believe what you want," Sokka mumbled.

"How about Sokka, Suki, and I will go?" Katara said. "Sokka can take out his ponytail and Suki and I can change our hairstyles. We can also use some of the clothes we bought to camouflage ourselves."

"You mean the clothes we _stole,"_ Zuko said.

"Yeah..." Katara said.

"And we'll probably be stealing the food, too," Zuko said.

"Do you have a problem with stealing now?" Katara asked. "It's not like you haven't stolen anything before."

"No, it's not like that," Zuko said.

"I think Suki and I should be the only ones to go," Sokka said quickly. Like everyone else he could feel the tension between Katara and Zuko and wanted to change the subject.

"Why is _that,_ Sokka?" Katara said. "Don't think I can handle it?"

"No, it's just that a couple blends in better than a threesome. No one looks twice at two people, but three people is kind of strange. You know, 'two's a couple, three's a crowd,'" Sokka explained, quoting the saying.

"That does make sense," Aang said.

"I bet be just wants some _alone_ time with Suki," Toph smirked.

"Nah, he'll be too excited about the food," Suki said, smiling too.

"Well, it's settled. Sokka and Suki will go get the food, and we'll wait here," Aang said. "You should probably change into the clothes we got."

"Oh yeah," Sokka said. "Um... where should we change?"

"Don't worry," Toph said, making two stalls out of the rock in the alleyway. "Change there."

Sokka emerged from the stone changing room dressed in a hoodie and jeans. Suki took a little longer, but came out wearing skinny jeans and a long sleeve shirt. Sokka then took out his ponytail and gave the rubber band to Katara, who braided Suki's hair.

By this time, night was starting to fall. Fortunately for Sokka and Suki, it meant better cover.

"You guys look very normal," Zuko said.

"Yeah, just don't spaz, Sokka, or you'll draw attention to yourself," Katara said.

The two started to walk away, towards the road.

"Don't get lost!" Aang called after them.

"They'll be fine, Aang," Katara said. "Sokka's good at directions."

"Okay, here's the plan," Sokka said to Suki. They were standing outside of a 7-eleven on a slightly busy sidewalk. "You're going to walk in and distract the cashier while I swipe some random food items from the shelves in there."

"What do I say?" Suki said. "I can't think of anything."

"His name, favorite color, favorite food, how he feels about the political system," Sokka said. "Just make it so he doesn't see me. Once I walk out the door, you can leave. Oooh, the weather is another good topic."

"But won't it be suspicious that I'm not buying anything? I don't think many people go to stores just to make _conversation,"_ Suki said.

"Just pretend-" Sokka started to say. He glanced over to where an old lady was staring skeptically at them. Sokka turned Suki so that they were facing away from the old woman. He didn't want any nosy grandmas listening in. He'd had enough experience with Gran-gran to know that old ladies were not as helpless as they seemed. "Just pretend that you were looking for something but they didn't have it."

"Okay," Suki said, frowning. "You think it'll work?"

"Suki, I _know_ it'll work," Sokka said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, you'll do great!"

"Alright," she said nervously. Then she walked into the 7-eleven. "Hi!" she said, smiling at the cashier. She glanced around the store, so it would be believable that she was actually looking for something. "What's your name?"

"Allen," the cashier grumbled. "Says so on my name-tag."

"So, Allen," Suki said. "What's your favorite color?"

"Black," he said.

Suki saw Sokka entering the store out of the corner of her eye.

"I hate orange though," Allen said. "That's why I don't like working here. Everything's orange."

"Oh, that's too bad," Suki said.

"I need the money though, so I ignore the color," Allen said.

Suki realized this was an opportunity to find a job so that the group could have money to buy things instead of stealing everything. "Are you hiring?" she asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Allen said. "I could use some help around here."

"Maybe I'll come and work here," Suki said.

Sokka didn't like the way the conversation was going. What did Suki think she was doing? They didn't need jobs. They just needed to stay hidden until they could get back to the Spirit World, and eventually, their own world.

But that didn't matter as much as getting some food for Team Avatar. The SlimJims looked kind of like seal jerky, so he stuffed a few of those in his jacket for Katara and him to share. Then a colorful pack of _gum,_ whatever that was. He grabbed a bag of dried fruit, but the bag crinkled loudly, making Sokka jump back in fright. How could snacks be so _loud_ in this world? He carefully slipped the bag of fruit into his sweater, along with some chips, Goldfish - he'd never tried that species before, but fish was fish - and granola bars.

He opened a clear glass door to get some water and was shocked when a blast of cold air hit his face. This place certainly had some cool technology. He grabbed a few bottles of water and put them in his sweatshirt and winced as the cold flasks hit his stomach.

Sokka looked down at himself and realized, to his dismay, that he looked like a lumpy, fat man. How would he make it out without the salesman noticing him? Nobody spontaneously gained twenty pounds in the space of two minutes.

He peeked around the shelf and saw the man showing Suki how to empty the slushee machine. Thankfully, his back was turned.

Holding his pouch of food as carefully and quietly as he could, Sokka tiptoed out of the store.

Suki almost squealed with delight when Sokka made it out of the store, but caught herself just in time.

Now it was time for _her_ getaway.

She made sure Allen saw her check the clock on the wall, and said, "This was great, Allen, and I'd love to work here, but, um, my mom is expecting me and I don't want to keep her waiting. She's pretty strict."

"I understand," Allen grumbled. "Come back when you're ready to work, or if you just need a snack."

"Thanks," Suki smiled. It was too bad she was stealing from him. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy. She walked out of the store, waved, and then walked down the street where she found Sokka trying to keep all of the food packets in his hoodie. It was dusk, so he just looked like a fat man in a sweater.

"Nice job," Suki said. "You look like you ate a platypus-bear."

"You were amazing," Sokka said, smiling. "Maybe you should take up acting once we get back."

"And perform with those Ember Island Players? No way," Suki laughed. Besides, I love being a Kyoshi warrior too much."

"Okay, whatever you say," Sokka said. "Anyway, if you were acting, then I'd never get to see you."

They made their way back to the alleyway, where the other four members of their group were waiting. They were gathered around a fire that Zuko had made after gathering some scraps.

"Took you long enough," Toph said. "I'm starving."

"What'd you get, Sokka?" Aang asked.

"And don't give us that 'meat of friendship and fatherhood' stuff, because Suki's already here, and I will _kill_ you if you somehow managed to bring dad along," Katara said.

"No, we got real food this time," Suki said.

"See for yourselves," Sokka said, lifting up his sweater and letting the food and water spill out into the alleyway.

"Whoa, you got tons of stuff," Aang said, opening up the dried fruit and popping a few berries into his mouth.

"Are these real fish?" Katara asked, picking up the bag of Goldfish. "They look kind of like crackers from what I see."

"Open it and find out," Sokka said. "I have no idea, I just picked some random stuff up."

The Goldfish turned out to be cheese flavored crackers, and Sokka was a little disappointed. But at least he had the SlimJims, which he started to eat.

Everyone got a portion of the food, but they decided to leave the gum for later, seeing as they had absolutely no clue as to what it was.

"Zuko, you want some?" Aang asked, realizing his friend wasn't eating anything.

"No..." Zuko said. "I'm not hungry."

Aang knew Zuko wasn't telling him the truth, but he knew that prying wouldn't help. "Okay, but if you get hungry later, just say something," he said. "I'll save some food you, just in case."

"Thanks, Aang, but I don't think I'll need it," Zuko mumbled. He knew he was hungry, but he just couldn't bring himself to take the food. He'd stoten so many things in the past, and his uncle had never been too happy. Zuko could picture what Iroh's expression would be if he ate the food: a look of pure disappointment. And he had disappointed his uncle too many times. He moved away from the group, lay down, and closed his eyes. What he needed right now was sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry for the long wait. These chapters are pretty long, though, so it takes a while for me to write them. But I know you probably don't care about my excuses.**

**Anyways, I'm running low on plot ideas, so if you have any, please don't hesitate to tell me! Otherwise, I might have to wrap this up kinda soon.**

**nular and SamanthaSamma - Thank you!**

**WelshWeevil - Thanks. Nope, that wasn't the end. I've still got a few more ideas, but as I said, I'm running low.**

**Guest - Thank you, I'm glad you liked that part :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender**

Chapter Four:

Aang lay awake in the alley. Even though it was quieter at night than it was during the day, he couldn't meditate. Maybe it was the stress, or the strangeness of being in a new place. But, meditation or not, sleep was not coming easy for the Avatar.

He thought about what Zuko had said earlier, about telling Katara how he felt about her. Was now the right time, or not? Would this end like last time, with her getting mad at him and running away? Well, she probably wouldn't run away. But what if she slapped him, or started crying, or hated him for trying to get her to go out with him so many times?

But Zuko also said that the longer he waited, the farther Katara got from him, and Aang wasn't going to lose her. So, holding onto the faint hope that he _wouldn't_ get rejected, Aang stood up and went to go tell Katara what he'd wanted to tell her ever since they'd met that day in the South Pole.

Katara, unaware that Aang was about to confess his feelings to her, was sitting next to a sleeping Toph and thinking about the same thing Aang was. Her conversation with Suki earlier that day was playing over and over again in her mind.

_"Katara, trust me when I say that boy has huge feelings for you."_

_"How do you know?"_

_"I notice things. He's probably just trying to pluck up the courage to ask you out."_

What had Suki noticed? As far as she knew, Aang acted the same way around her as he did around anyone else.

No, wait.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Aang _didn't_ act the same way around everyone else. He never told Suki or Toph that they looked fine in their bikinis. He never got nervous around anyone else in their group, and - she wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing - he never got that glassy look in his eyes whenever anyone else asked him how they looked.

Could there be other things that she had overlooked or dismissed as friendly behavior that were really signs that he liked her?

_"Maybe you should just tell him yourself."_

Could Suki be right? Should she tell him how she felt? Katara glanced over to where Suki was sleeping, snuggled up next to Sokka with a smile on her face. When she felt a tug in her heart and found herself wishing she and Aang were like that, she knew she had to do _something._ She stood up and started to walk towards where she thought Aang was sleeping when she bumped into someone. Her eyes widened when she realized who it was.

"Aang."

Great. He was about to ask Katara out and ruined it by smashing into her. Smooth, _very_ smooth.

"Um, hi, Katara," he stammered.

"Can't sleep?" she asked.

"Yeah, and I guess you can't either," he said.

"Uh-huh," she said, nodding.

This was getting very awkward very fast. Aang knew he had to act quickly or he would wreck his chance even further.

"Um, Katara-" he said, right as she blurted out, "Listen, Aang-"

"Sorry," they said simultaneously. "You go first. No, you."

They both laughed uneasily and waited for the other to start talking. Aang knew it was now or never... or maybe just _now or some other time. _But it wasn't often that he felt brave enough to do something like this.

"Katara, there's something I have to tell you," he said. "I know this could potentially change our relationship as friends, but I need to say it."

Katara's mind stopped working after he said, "our relationship as friends". As friends. _Friends._ Was that all he saw her as? A friend? Maybe Suki was wrong, and he _didn't_ like her.

Aang noticed the frown on Katara's face, and that worried him. "Katara? Are you okay?" he said.

She blinked a few times and said, "W-what? Yeah, I'm perfectly f-fine."

"Okay," Aang said skeptically, not believing a word of it. "Anyway, I know I've said this a couple times before, but I..." He stopped, took a deep breath, and said, "I really like you, but not as a friend, and I've been wondering if you wanted to be my girlfriend, but I have no idea if you see me as a friend or something else, and I don't even know if I like you or if I _love_ you, because I've known you for a while now and everything about you just makes me like you even more, and I want you to know that because I feel like I'm lying to you all the time and even though I really _really _like being friends with you, I like you more than that."

Katara was staring at him, her eyes incredibly wide. She was standing completely still. Her mind was completely blank, except for one thought: _Did he really say what I think he said?_

Aang waited for a few seconds, expecting _some_ sort of reaction from her. But it looked like Katara was giving him the silent treatment. He should have known.

"Um, well, I guess you like me as a friend then. And I'm perfectly fine with that. I'm not mad or anything. So... goodnight," he said, turning around and walking towards his spot on the floor.

Aang had never been one to cry, but this time... this time, he had really been hoping. Especially after what Zuko said. He actually thought she would like him the same way.

"Aang, wait," Katara said from behind him.

"Katara, it's fine," he said, his voice trembling slightly. "I just need to be alone for a little while."

_"No,_ Aang," Katara said, running in front of him. "You have to hear this."

"What's to hear?" he asked glumly.

"Look at me, Aang," Katara said. Aang turned his grey, tear filled eyes towards Katara's calm blue eyes. "I don't know when it happened, but sometime between the eclipse and that final battle, I started seeing you differently. And since then, I've been waiting for you to say something like what you just said a few seconds ago. I should have just told you myself instead of waiting, and I feel so dumb for making a mistake like that. And to top it all off, I ruined it a little while ago by standing stone still when I should have said something. But I'll say it now. I really do like you, Aang, as more than a friend. I'm just sorry it took me so long to realize it, and to work up the courage to tell you."

After a few seconds of silence, Aang finally said, "You mean it?"

"Of course I do. Why would I ever lie to you?" Katara asked, smiling.

"I can't believe it," Aang said, more to himself than Katara. "This is amazing!"

"So, Aang," Katara said. "Do you want to be my boyfriend?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Aang said jokingly, even though it was true.

They fell asleep side by side, holding hands.

Looks like third time's a charm.

Suki woke up the next morning and noticed two things. One, there was a puddle of drool around Sokka's mouth, and two, Zuko was already awake and smiling at something.

After easing herself out of Sokka's arms, she walked over to Zuko and was surprised to find Aang and Katara lying next to each other and holding hands.

"Well," she smiled, "seems like they finally got together after all."

"To be honest, I've been waiting for this to happen for a while," Zuko said. "They obviously liked each other. It was almost funny, the way neither of them could see it."

"I know," Suki said, laughing. "I'm happy for them though."

"What's all the chit-chat about?" Sokka said, yawning. He made his way over to Suki and Zuko. When he realized what they were talking about, his eyes grew wide. "What?!"

"That's right," Suki said.

"Huh," Sokka said. "Looks like the hero got the girl after all."

"Morning, guys!" Toph said, earthbending herself off the ground and into a standing position. "Wait, am I seeing correctly, or are Aang and Katara together?"

"It certainly looks that way," Sokka said.

"You mean _together_ together?" Toph asked.

"Sure do," Soka said.

Then Toph said the one word that just about summed up what everyone was thinking: _"Finally!"_


	5. Chapter 5

**I am ****_so sorry._**** When I started this story, I was really hoping I wouldn't become one of those people who only updates once every half a year. But I guess things never really work out the way we want them to. This chapter is for a certain guest reviewer. To that reviewer, I'm sorry if you get mad that I brought Momo along too. I felt like it would be mean to exclude him. One more thing: the formatting got a little messed up when I uploaded this chapter. I tried to fix it multiple times, but nothing I did seemed to work. So, if there are any moments where you think there should be a time skip and the little asterisks* aren't there, you know why. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! And as always, don't forget to give me your thoughts after you're done :)**

**Disclaimer: The plot is all that's mine. Everything else is Nickelodeon's.**

Chapter Five:

"Hey, Loverboy. Wake up."

"Wha..." Aang mumbled. He stood up and rubbed his eyes. A sideways glance told him that Zuko was standing next to him, smirking.

"So," the Fire Lord said, "are you going to tell me what happened?"

Aang froze. "Well, you're not one to beat around the bush."

Zuko paused and considered it. "You're right, I'm not. So tell me. What happened. With you. And Katara."

Aang grinned sheepishly and said, "I took your advice."

Zuko smiled and patted his friend on the back a bit awkwardly. "Good for y-"

"Aaaaaannnggg!"

Aang was nearly tackled by a screaming Sokka.

"Come with me," Sokka said brusquely, grabbing Aang by the arm and marching him away. "We need to have a talk."

Aang looked at Zuko, wide-eyed. Zuko just sighed and chuckled to himself. It was time for the talk between the older brother and the boyfriend.

"Look, Aang," Sokka said. He had dragged Aang to a corner in the alley and was having a _very serious_ talk with him. "I've known you for a while now, and I trust you. In my opinion, you're the one best deserving of Katara. That said, if you _ever, EVER_ hurt her, or make her cry, or... or _ANYTHING, _I will whack you in the arrow with my boomerang and you will be banned from the Water Tribe."

"I know, Sokka," Aang said, rushing to get his words out before Sokka could get too crazy. "And believe me, I have no intention of hurting Katara. Seeing her hurt hurts me too."

Sokka knew Aang was telling the truth. He had seen how he acted with his sister since they met all those years ago. But, still, it was _Katara._ She was his entire world. In his opinion, no guy could ever be worthy of her, but Aang was the _Avatar,_ not to mention he had a great personality, and that was as worthy as anyone could get.

"Okay," he said. "Just so we're clear."

"Crystal clear," Aang said. "Clear as the air in the Southern Air Temple."

"Good," Sokka said. He turned around and walked back to where everyone else was. Then he whirled around and pointed at Aang, narrowing his eyes. "Keep it that way."

Aang couldn't help feeling a bit bewildered. Sokka always seemed so carefree and easygoing. It was unusual to see him so serious. But, Katara was someone they both cared about, and so it was understandable that he would be worried about her.

"Come on, Katara! Don't keep us in suspense!" Suki squealed, nearly jumping up and down with excitement.

"And don't leave anything out," Toph said. "I can tell if you're lying."

"Okay, well..." Katara started to explain. It was a bit of an awkward topic, but she tried to make it sound as normal as possible. "I couldn't go to sleep last night, and I kept thinking about what you told me, Suki-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Toph said. "You talked to _Suki_ about this, but not _me?"_

"Um, I just thought Suki was a little more experienced with this kind of stuff," Katara said.

Toph opened her mouth to respond, then closed it. "You have a point."

"Anyway, I decided to tell Aang how I felt about him, and so I started walking over to where he was, but we bumped into each other. Turns out, he was looking for me, and he wanted to tell me the same thing I was going to tell him." She smiled, remembering the conversation.

"Awwwww, that's so _cute!"_ Suki said as she hugged Katara.

"I'm just glad you two dunderheads finally realized it," Toph said. "It was hilarious, the way you didn't notice the signs and stuff. Come on, I'm _blind_ and I knew."

They heard someone shouting, and looked over to see Sokka yelling at Aang in a corner of the alleyway.

"What's going on?" Suki asked.

"Oh no, Sokka's probably going all over-protective-brother on Aang," Katara said.

"That just means he cares about you," Toph said. "In a weird, spazzy, Sokka kind of way."

They had decided to eat breakfast when Zuko approached Aang.

"Still not eating, Zuko?" the monk asked.

"Yeah..." Zuko said. There was no denying he was hungry, but he knew he would feel worse if he ate. "Actually, I came to talk to you about something else."

Aang nodded for him to continue.

"Doesn't each Avatar have an animal that they have a special bond with?" the Firelord said. "For Avatar Roku, it was his dragon, and for you it would be Appa, right?"

"Yeah," Aang said. He was surprised that Zuko knew that. "It's a spiritual bond. What are you getting at, Zuko?"

"Well, by concentrating on your bond with him, shouldn't you be able to use it to bring us back to our world?" Zuko said.

Aang's eyes widened as he realized what Zuko had just said. "That's it!" he shouted.

The entire group was staring at him like he was crazy.

"Aang?" Katara said. "Is everything okay?"

"It's more than okay, it's great!" Aang smiled. "Zuko figured out how to get us back!"

"What? That's amazing!" Katara said happily.

"How did you figure it out?!" Sokka asked Zuko.

Zuko shrugged. "Lucky guess?"

"All we have to do is wait until night time, when it's relatively quiet," Aang said, more to himself than anyone else. "Then, I can mediate and use Appa to get us back!"

"Aang..." Sokka said. "You know that we can't just _fly_ back to our world, right?"

"Oh come on, Sokka, you know that's not what he means," Katara said, playfully flicking her brother on the forehead. "Appa's not even here."

Sokka frowned. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he grumbled.

"I'll use my spiritual bond with Appa to get us back into the Spirit World, and from there, we can just find the way back to our world," Aang clarified. Looking around at the eager expression of his friends, he could tell that they were just excited about the possibility of getting home as he was.

Sokka groaned the whiniest, loudest, annoyingest – but still the manliest – groan he could. "I _hate_ waiting!" he grumbled. It was dusk in the new world, and Aang had settled into the Lotus position a few minutes earlier.

"Sokka, be quiet," Katara snapped. "You'll throw off Aang's concentration!"

Sokka huffed and pulled out his boomerang to play with.

Meanwhile, Aang was trying as hard as he could to find Appa, or at least the Spirit World. He tried to use the same method he learned in the swamp. "Everything is connected," he whispered. "Everything... is... connected..."

Suddenly he felt it, like a thread wavering in and out of his reach. He had found Appa. _Appa!_ he called out mentally. The resounding roar he heard in response was enough to bring Aang to tears. _I missed you, buddy. I _still_ miss you. And I want to get back as soon as I can, so do you want to help me out?_ Appa grunted what sounded like an affirmative.

"Look!" Katara whispered, pointing to the Avatar. "His arrow is glowing!"

_"Yes!"_ Sokka said, collapsing on the ground in relief. "Finally!"

"Should we go over to him?" Suki asked. "So we can hold onto him, like last time?"

The group nodded in agreement and they made their way over to Aang as quietly as they could.

Appa didn't really know what to think when he started hearing Aang's voice in his head. But he was sure of one thing: he would always help Aang, no matter what.

Momo was looking at him with wide, curious eyes. He occasionally warbled, asking Appa what was going on, but Appa didn't want to answer him for fear of losing his connection with Aang. But then Momo said something that Appa just couldn't ignore.

_Blue light! Blue light! What's that blue light?_

It was then that Appa realized that he was glowing. He also felt a slight tug deep inside, like he was being pulled somewhere.

_Blue light! Blue light! Blue light!_

The light got brighter and brighter until Appa couldn't even see Momo anymore.

Momo sensed that something was off, and flew towards Appa. He slammed into his friend's soft fur just as Appa disappeared, taking Momo with him.

_"RRROOOOOAAAAAAARRRRR!"_

Aang gasped and opened his eyes. That roar did _not_ come from his head. His mouth dropped open as he took in the scene before him. Appa had somehow been teleported to where _he_ was, not the other way around. The sight of a lemur flying around told him that Momo had also made it here.

He buried his face in his hands, wondering how this could've happened. The plan had backfired, and now they were even worse off than before. How were they going to keep something as big as Appa hidden in this new place? He felt a hand on his shoulder, and glanced up to find Katara smiling at him.

"I know things seem bad right now," she said, "but we'll get through it. We've made it through everything else."

He sighed. "Thanks, Katara. I hope you're right."


End file.
